1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to quick-connect ribbon burners used in commercial ovens and, in particular, to a slip-fit connection between a burner and the burner manifold with the burners secured by a single gate and supporting tracks.
2. Description of Related Art
Ribbon burners are commonly used in commercial ovens, such as tortilla toasting ovens. These ribbon burners comprise small diameter, such as one inch, pipes that are threaded on one end and sealed on the opposite end. Down the length of all but small sections on either end of the pipe are one or more rows of orifices through which gas is discharged. The burners connect with a gas source by threading them into a threaded receiver attached to a burner manifold.
A typical prior art design of a burner set used in commercial ovens is illustrated by FIGS. 1a and 1b. FIG. 1a shows nine burners 102 installed and connected to a burner manifold 104. This nine-burner arrangement is fairly typical, although ovens can be designed with variable numbers of burners. Pressurized gas forced through the rows of orifices on each individual burner 102 is ignited, thereby providing the heat source for the particular oven.
As shown in FIG. 1b, each burner 102 is supported at an open end 103 by threading it into a female coupling 106, which coupling 106 in turn is welded to or otherwise permanently affixed to the manifold 104. Gas is, therefore, passed from the burner manifold 104, through the female coupling 106, and into the burner 102. Support at the closed end 101 of the burner 102 is provided by a support bracket 108.
Individual burners 102 occasionally need removing due to quality issues, typically involving non-uniform heat distribution across the length of the burner 102. Unfortunately, the burners 102 warp and distort due to the constant exposure to high temperatures. Further, constant exposure to the gas used, typically natural gas, can cause corrosion of the metal components of the burner 102 and other components of the burner assembly. This can frequently make the removal of an individual burner 102 a difficult task.
In order to remove a burner 102, the burner 102 must be twisted until disengaged from the threaded female coupling 106. The connection between the threaded end 103 of the burner 102 and the coupling 106 frequently seizes because of heat and corrosion, making disengagement between the burner 102 and the coupling 106 quite difficult. This adds to the removal time for each burner 102 and can result in damage to either the burner 102 or the coupling 106 as the operator tries to mechanically force the disengagement. Further, since it is sometimes necessary to apply high levels of torque to remove the burners 102, it is advisable to allow the entire oven and burner assembly time to cool down before attempting a burner 102 change-out. A cool down period adds to the time required to remove or inspect individual burners 102.
The burner assemblies illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b are fairly typical of toasting ovens used in the food processing industry, such as Casa Hererra Model No. MACH IV and EFM Model No. TCOBPQ 24,170. Removal for inspection of an entire row of nine burners 102 on these typical toasting ovens results in approximately two hours of down time and requires two operators to safely and effectively remove the burners 102. For near continuous use of these ovens, it is preferable that such inspections occur on a regular basis, such as every three to four weeks. Further, it is occasionally necessary to remove a single burner 102 when the burner fails to provide an even heat source across the length of the burner 102. Even when the oven and burner set is not allowed to cool, removing a single burner 102 can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour, depending on how easily the burner 102 can be removed from the manifold coupling 106. The time required to remove burners results in lost productivity for the product line and increased labor costs.
Consequently, a need exists for a burner set that allows for a quick and safe removal and installation of burners. This burner set should provide a sealed communication with the burner manifold, adequate support for the entire burner, and provisions for maintaining a tight fit for all components that compensates for the deformation of individual burners over time. Such apparatus should allow for change-out of an entire burner set in a matter of minutes, as opposed to hours.